Kim Mulkey Announces LSU Star’s Status For Elite Eight
LSU is set to play in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row, but the road to their matchup with top-seeded UCLA was not easy.
The Tigers defeated NC State in a hard-fought matchup on Friday night, and they did it without one of their stars at the end of the night.
LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson left Friday’s win over the Wolfpack with an eye injury late in the fourth quarter. After being evaluated by sideline medics, she wasn’t allowed back into the game.
Johnson pleaded with the medics to simply tape her eye so she could go back in, but they weren’t able to.
With the best team in the country up next for LSU, head coach Kim Mulkey gave an update on Johnson’s condition heading into Sunday’s matchup.
According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Mulkey said that Johnson is “good to go” for Sunday’s game.
“It was really hard for us not to have Flau’jae on that floor, but she was seeing double. She got hit in the eye area and they wouldn’t let her go back in,” Mulkey said on Friday night after the game against NC State.
The Tigers used a total team performance to pick up the win in the Sweet Sixteen, as three players finished with double figures. Aneesah Morrow led the way with 30 points and 19 rebounds, and Sa’Myah Smith put up 21 points and 11 rebounds of her own.
Kailyn Gilbert added seven points off the bench, and her block of NC State’s Zoe Brooks late in the fourth quarter changed the game’s momentum for good.
After Brooks scored four straight points to give the Wolfpack the lead, LSU held them scoreless for the rest of the game, starting with Gilbert’s block.
“To watch her on-ball defense every day in practice get better and better… like she said, she was getting beat off the dribble there and makes a defensive play,” Mulkey said about the game-saving block from Gilbert.
“It’s only fitting that we talk about that in this game.”
LSU will need more great plays from Gilbert, Johnson and the rest of the roster if they want to defeat No. 1 seed UCLA. Fans can tune in to the Elite Eight matchup on Sunday at 3 PM ET on ESPN.
